A few years ago when I was studying in yeshiva,
I adopted the minhag of going to the mikveh (spiritually purifying
bath) every erev Shabbat (Friday afternoon). This I have kept
up all these years. A while ago I heard it mentioned that there
are actually certain kavanot (holy thoughts) that a person should
have each time he immerses himself, seven in total. Is this true?
If so, what are they? And if it is true, how is a person allowed
to have a religious kavana (thought) in the mikveh?

Dear Ashley,

Many people immerse in a mikveh Friday afternoon
to honor the Shabbat. There are many different customs regarding
the number of dips and regarding the kavanot which one
should keep in mind. Here are seven of the main customs:

Two dips: The first to remove the spiritual "clothing"
of the weekday and the second to "wear" the spiritual
clothing of Shabbat. If he is physically impure, he needs one
more dip before these two. (Arizal in Pri Etz Chaim, Sha'ar
Hakavanot)

Three dips: The first for nefesh the second
for ruach and the third for neshama (nefesh,
ruach and neshama relate to different levels of the
soul. (Ben Ish Chai 2nd year, Lech Lecha note 16)

Four dips, parallel to the four-letter name of
G-d, one dip for each letter. (Yesod Veshoresh Ha'avodah).

Five dips corresponding the five levels of the
soul: Nefesh, ruach and neshama, as mentioned above,
plus the two higher levels of soul called chayah and yechidah.
There are five different kavanot to have in mind when
performing each of these dips: At the first dip, purity from
keri (physical impurity), at the 2nd, spiritual cleansing
from anger, 3rd to remove spiritual "clothing" of the
weekdays, 4th to remove "ruach" of weekdays,
5th to receive tosefet kedusha of Shabbat (additional sanctity
of Shabbat). (Ben Ish Chai 2nd year, Lech Lecha note 16)